Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 25.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,515 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,098 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 92,823.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 238,763,957 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $50,441,274,000 after buying an additional 238,507,009 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,509,345 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,091,832,000 after acquiring an additional 391,648 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.9% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,357,722 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,263,546,000 after purchasing an additional 695,355 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,003,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,519,719,000 after purchasing an additional 149,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.9% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,749,285 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,536,910,000 after purchasing an additional 332,375 shares during the last quarter. 77.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $219.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.46 billion, a PE ratio of 137.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.18. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.34 and a 52 week high of $238.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The CRM provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.22. Salesforce had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.86, for a total value of $2,128,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,930 shares in the company, valued at $12,543,839.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 164 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.97, for a total value of $32,959.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $517,698.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.86, for a total value of $2,128,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,930 shares in the company, valued at $12,543,839.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 656,788 shares of company stock valued at $137,822,381. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Salesforce from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Salesforce from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.28.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and relationship intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer service and support at scale.